Flight of Fire
by SwishandShadow
Summary: An adventure spanning worlds both existing and non with characters from all places, Follow their path. Characters are taken from Terry Pratchett's "Discworld" Series and others from "Final Fantasy," etc. Please Read and Review.
1. Chapter 1 In Which They Meet

**Swish here. Please enjoy this piece that Shadow and I are putting together as a role play via email. Our original characters are of our own creation and should not be used without permission. We do not own any character or location from the "Discworld" series, "Final Fantasy" series, "Heir" series, etc. They are owned by their respective authors. Please review! Thank you. We hope you enjoy our insanity! **

**Swish's** Characters:

Rose- (original character) **red hair like cedar, dark green eyes, a rogue knight; run out after it was discovered that she was a woman; developed her own fighting style using her own weapons, two short scythes with a blade on either end, each blade pointing in opposite directions; she has a fiery temper but lives in a loose manner, generally very laid back and very much a jokester; has a slight aversion to magic and gets rather serious and fidgety whenever it is involved as an unknown factor in her equation**

Jonathan Teatime (Teh-ah-tim-eh, for he gets very cross when you pronounce it wrong)- (owned by Terry Prachett) boyishly handsome, with curly hair and a ready smile; one eye is black (usually described as white; glass) and the other is ice-blue, with a tiny, pinhole-sized pupil; he is, undoubtedly, a genius, but also sociopathic to an astonishing degree, his mind has been compared to both a corkscrew and a shattered mirror (i.e. something brilliant, sharp, and dazzling, but also fundamentally and irrevocably broken); possesses physical abilities which defy physics, and has been known to perform feats such as stabbing through all layers of clothing but stopping before hitting flesh, doing the same thing but with eyelids instead of clothing and eyes instead of flesh, flipping on thin air, and killing so fast he appears to be a blur, all of which he will do without any notice or provocation

Shadow's Characters:

Eclise- (original character)Shoulder length black hair and glowing green eyes, one of the Gifted, a Morpher, shadow-user, and summoner; plays the violin to earn a little money; fights using poison-tipped needles

Sky Voir- (original character) tall, skinny, blonde-haired blue-eyed boy, one of the Gifted, an air elementalist; plays the viola to earn a little money; fights using throwing knives

**The air in the tavern was dense, the lighting dim. The dull murmur of the night's first customers permeated the atmosphere. It was a tavern like any other in town-- a firetrap by all accounts, stale, smelly, and served bitter ale, even by dwarf standards. The one thing that set this one apart was the fact that the floorboards were a good four feet below the entrance. An in-ground tavern, if you will. **

**A young man with a boyish face and tight blond curls, dressed in black from head to toe strode down the creaky wooden steps of the tavern, his long coat swishing behind his long strides. His mismatched eyes flicked gracefully about the room, finally resting upon the bartender, directly across from him behind a rough hewn bar, with tall chairs--some occupied, some not--situated before it.**

**"Excuse me, sir," he said in a light, smooth voice, "I would like a glass of your best brandy, if you don't mind."**

**The bartender turned around, "Sure thing, Mist--" the phrase caught in the man's throat as he met his customer's eyes: one ice blue with a pinhole pupil, the other black. "Mister T-Te-a-tim-eh. I didn't expect to see you here.... tonight..."**

**"You didn't expect to see me **_**ever again**_**, Mr. Bradley," corrected Jonathan Teatime (for of course it was he) amiably. "Yet here I am." With frightening grace, the Assassin sat down in the chair before him. "Now, I would like that brandy, please."**

**"Yessir." The bartender turned back to his glasses and bottles hurriedly.**

**"Eh, Mr. Bradley! I'd like a shot of whiskey, while you're at it. I need to wash down this soup," a woman with dark auburn hair declared from the seat to the right of Teatime's. **

**"Certainly, Miss Rose."**

**The woman, dressed in a tunic the same color as her name with plain leather boots and two weapons sheathed on her back, turned to the young man beside her. "So you're Jonathan Teatime?"**

**He turned his mismatched gaze to her. "Yes, I am. Jonathan Teatime of the Assassin's Guild. Are you interested in our services?"**

**Rose shook her head, "No, thank you. I'm more interested in your recent... infamy." **

**"Oh, yes. My last contract." He paused, a cracked grin spreading across his face, the dim light playing eerily across his boyish features. "Have I really reached a status of Infamy?"**

**The bartender slid to glasses down the bar. Each party inclined a head in thanks.**

**Rose ignored the Assassin's question. "I had heard that it didn't end so well."**

**"One hears a great many things."**

**There was a silence. Teatime sipped his brandy. Rose gulped down her whiskey in one swallow. **

**"Tonight, we have a couple of violinists!" Attention was turned to a short woman (probably the bartender's wife) on a makeshift stage in the corner of the tavern beside the great fireplace. "Please welcome Sky and Eclise!"**

**A boy and a girl took the stage, each carrying a string instrument.**

**"That's a **_**viola**_**," muttered Rose and Teatime in unison.**

The two teens on stage fidgeted for a moment before the boy said, "Ma'am this is a viola not a violin. But on this note we would like to begin the show...?" His voice trailed off at the lady's stare. The two exchanged glances before doing a quiet countdown.

"1....2....3" the girl whispered. With that she began to coax a quiet, haunting melody out of the violin. Then the boy began in with his viola picking up the tempo. Everyone in the pub was quiet watching the pair weave a story on their instruments. As the song picked up to a hype some of the customers began to dance as the pair turned the tune into a fast jig.

**The violin and viola's music swept through the tavern, an electric pulse infecting even its most stoic patrons. **

**Rose and the young man beside her gazed out at the couples doing some lively steps on the open floorboards. She glanced at the Assassin, who was watching them with a somewhat fascinated gaze in his human eye. The glass eye--which was rumored to be an enchanted scrying crystal--remained emotionless.**

**Rose stood, her chair scraping quietly on the wooden floorboards. She nodded to Teatime as he glanced at her. "Want to dance?" she asked bluntly.**

**His mouth twitched slightly, a puzzled frown appearing for a moment. He recalled his lessons in courtesy and class at the Guild, and his dance lessons for the annual Assassin's Ball flooded back. "I would be... happy to, Miss... Rose?"**

**"You can just call me Rose," the woman declared with a slight gesture, as though to wave away formalities.**

**Somewhat stiffly, Teatime offered a strong hand with slender, girlish fingers. Rose took it with hardly a breath of hesitation. Fear was a four-letter word that had long since fled her vocabulary.**

When the music stopped abruptly almost an hour later many people were confused. But the pair was staring at something then a voice was heard through the pub.

"Attack! We're under Attack! Every man and women for their lives! We're under Attack!"

**Teatime cocked his head slightly in confusion, still holding Rose from the suddenly ceased jig. People running for their lives from an attacker--an attacker for which **_**he**_** did not arrange, an attacker whom he did not know, an attacker that was not **_**he?**_** Oh no, no. That would not do at all.**

**Adrenaline coursed through Rose's veins. She let her arms fall to her sides.**

**In unison, the pair stepped apart and with trained eyes and ears, searched for the source of commotion, legs planted defensively, hands itching for their weapons.**

The two teens stood petrified. They knew who this man was. They knew what he could do. They had seen him destroy villages. But they couldn't leave, not now. They had to get him away from the town before he could do anything....

**Rose gritted her teeth. A dark man stood framed in the moonlight of the tavern's doorway. She had recently heard tales of a ruthless man that tore through villages leaving a wake of devastation and death in his path. She glanced at the young Assassin beside her. So it hadn't been the apparition of Jonathan Teatime seeking revenge, for here he was in flesh and blood, slender fingers slipping into his coat pockets. The man in the doorway was a separate entity.**

**Men and women alike--help and patrons of the tavern rushed about in mad circles, diving for cover under the bar. **_**Cover from **_**what**_**? **_**scoffed Teatime silently. **_**Such undisciplined things.**_

**Rose cursed silently. Her armor was still at the inn. **_**That's what I get for leaving it "just one time."**_** Still, the rogue calculated her odds with trained discipline before acting. The chaos could shield her movements. She might be able to defend these people. She chanced a second glance at Teatime. Would he help or hinder her? There was no way to be sure. **

**With a snap of her wrists, Rose freed her twin scythes and a shadow of a smile played on her features.**

**  
****With a flick of his wrists, Teatime drew his knives and moved with superhuman speed.**

Sky leaned down slowly putting down his viola. Then he quietly stood up a pair of daggers slipping out from under his sleeves. Just as quietly Eclise set down her violin and took several poison-covered throwing needles out of her boot. The poison was non-lethal, but powerful all the same.

**All hell had broken loose inside the tavern. **

**While the villain at the door had not been prepared for Teatime's impossible agility, he had been ready for the knives--one pressed gracefully to his throat, the other ready to slip between his ribs. The man melted through the stairs and appeared on the floor. Women shrieked in horror. Rose leapt onto the bar, weapons in hand, working them as extensions of her body. She whirled about, her blades in a motion that reminded those present of a beheading. But the man ducked her blows, and retaliated. Rose was sent flying through several bottles of expensive wine. (She could not help but be faintly amused.) Teatime, meanwhile, changed his strategy, leaping from the stairs' railing to attack the villain from above, but again the man moved like liquid. **

**Other dark-clad figures were streaming in through the doorway now.**

**The tavern was a place of screams, flashing blades, and unthinkable terror.**

Sky muttered "I am tired of this man following us everywhere!" and with a ticked off growl he motioned for Eclise to throw one of the needles in he hand, and to all of their surprise, it hit him.

**The man gasped, staggered, and glared at the instrumentalists still onstage. **

**Everything in the tavern froze, as though everyone had been hit with the paralyzing breath of a dragon: the dark clothed men, Rose perched on the liquor shelves, ready to attack, Teatime, cocking his head and studying the young boy and girl in the corner, the violinist still clutching poison needles in her fingertips. **

The man snarled at the pair. He knew them. He was to kill them according to his client. They knew too much about something, apparently. They also had picked up a few tricks on the way. He guessed living on the streets did that.

Sky twitched his left hand and made a throwing movement. Teatime watched as a small adamite throwing dagger flew through the air and straight into the man's heart.

**Adamite: Very hard crystal. Occasionally used in weapons. Hard to forage.

**Teatime, with the attention and curiosity of a cat, yet with the air of one who knows of death and murder in all its forms, watched as the man slumped to the ground. Dead as the timbers beneath their feet. With his mismatched eyes--especially the scrying crystal--Teatime scrutinized the pair of instrumentalists. That boy might have an innate talent for inhuming people. He might be able to wear the Black one day.**

**Rose glared at the group of dark-clad men scattered about the tavern, gaping dumbly at their fallen master. "Get out!" she snapped, brandishing her weapons. "**_**Now**_**," she growled.**

**Like whipped puppies, the small group of men fled in an orderly retreat, chancing glances at the instrumentalists on the stage, the blond Assassin, and the fiery woman on the bar as they disappeared.**

**When they were gone, Rose leapt down to where Teatime was examining the small knife that had killed the intruder. **

**"Adamite," he commented in a fascinated, childish tone.**

The boy walked over quietly and reached down to collect the dagger and the needle. Wiping them carefully on the dead man's clothes to clean them, he returned to the stage.

He then turned to the crowd whom were still frozen in panic, "It is all right. That man is dead and will not return. You have nothing to fear. But I am afraid Eclise and I must leave tonight. Enjoy your evening." With that the pair quickly packed their instruments and made to leave.

**Rose slid her weapons back into their sheaths. There was something odd about those two. Somehow, they reminded her of... well, of her own youth. That did not bode well for anyone, least of all these two. Rose shook her head and brushed loose hair out of her face. She had a couple of questions for the two of them, but that could wait until they were out of the sight of all of these people. There was something strange about the instrumentalists...**

**The 'something strange' that Rose was pondering was something Teatime had seen immediately after the intruder's death: magic. His scrying-crystal eye has displayed it as a pulsating glow--a different color for each of them. But Teatime, too, wanted to have a word with them, for the magic he saw on these instrumentalists was different from that of a wizard or a mage. No, this light reminded him of something else. Of someone else. And why should **_**that**_** be, he wondered. **

**Rose glanced about. The Assassin was nowhere to be seen. Rose bit the inside of her cheek as she strode out of the tavern and then leaned against the wooden edifice under the night sky. If he was up to something... it did not bode well for anyone involved if the stories about him were true. Rose hoped the young man and woman were not his aim.**


	2. Chapter2 In Which Motives Are Discovered

**Again, our original characters are of our own creation and should not be used without permission. We do not own any character or location from the "Discworld" series, "Final Fantasy" series, "Heir" series, etc. They are owned by their respective authors. Please review! Please? You will make two pathetic authors very happy.**

Chapter 2

**Rose glanced about. The Assassin was nowhere to be seen. Rose bit the inside of her cheek as she strode out of the tavern and then leaned against the wooden edifice under the night sky. If he was up to something... it did not bode well for anyone involved if the stories about him were true. Rose hoped the young man and woman were not his aim.**

The pair ran down the streets picking up their bags as they ran. Eclise tripped and Sky sent a blast of wind to steady her. She smiled as they ran and mouthed 'Thanks'. Neither knew that the demonstration was odd, or that being able to control wind was unusual but they had to leave before anyone found them.

**Rose stepped around the corner of the building, directly in the path of the fleeing instrumentalists. She had expected them to use the alley door.**

**"Hold on, a moment," she ordered gently. "I'd like to thank you for what you did."**

Sky bit his lip and said "It's nothing. We got fed up with him trailing us and killed him. We deserve no thanks. Now if you'll excuse us we will be going now." Eclise nodded her agreement and started to take off again.

**Rose stepped in front of them again. "I'm afraid I would like to know just what it is that you are running from. And why was that man trailing you? I have been searching for the answer to who he is--er, was--for some time now." Rose paused and studied the two. They certainly had that spark of defiance that she herself had developed in her youth. "You see, I was a knight at one time. The safety of this kingdom is still of some importance to me when people go about destroying entire villages one after another. Would you mind clueing me in?"**

Eclise shifted he weight. The shadows were almost close enough! "He was, well.... He.... um... Leicester found out we knew more than we should and sent Jarrett, his top assassin, after us. And..." her voice faded out. She looked at Sky imploringly.

He sighed and said, "We used to work for a man named Leicester. He ran a large business and was in charge of the village we lived in. What Leicester wants Leicester gets... He wanted us for entertainment and mercenaries. That's what we are to this day." he said.

**Rose frowned, and opened her mouth to reply.**

**"That is not Assassin protocol," commented a quiet, smooth voice from the shadows beside the group. **

**Teatime was frowning in a disapproving fashion.**

**"Somehow I doubt he was from the Guild," Rose commented right back.**

**Teatime made a disgusted noise in the back of his throat. "**_**Freelance**_** assassins." He shook his head. "Unworthy of a capital 'a'."**

**Rose shook her head. This was not right. What on earth could this man... Leicester... want with two instrumentalists? Mercenaries? They were only barely old enough to be squires! Of course... they did have skills. That much was obvious from the way the two dispatched that assassin in the tavern. **

**"So, what are those skills the two of you are hiding?" asked Teatime bluntly, gazing at them with his terribly mismatched eyes.**

That comment got a reaction. The girl's eyes widened and she bit her lip. Almost time, just a few more minutes! "He wasn't from a Guild. He simply killed and went on his way. We have no special skills other then extreme luck." Sky said waiting for the signal.

**Teatime shook his head at the instrumentalists. "Don't lie. It's such a **_**dreadful**_** waste of time. You two have some sort of magic. **_**I**_** would like to know just what sort of powers the two of you are hiding."**

**Rose made a warning growl in her throat. She almost demanded that he leave them alone. But Rose knew that this man could see more than she could. The story about his glass eye being a scrying crystal probably **_**was**_** indeed**** true. And his question could help her solve this mystery.**

Suddenly Eclise grinned. It was time. Grabbing Sky's hand she took a step back and the pair vanished into the shadows. They appeared three streets down, stepping out of a shadowy patch.

**"Hm." Teatime blinked for a moment at the spot where the instrumentalists vanished. "Clever." **

**Then he, too, was gone, leaving Rose swearing in the alley.**

**"Curse magic," she muttered. "Curse it to a long stay with Shade."**

**Rose turned and raced out of the alleyway. She could catch the **_**three**_** of them before they made it out of the city. There was no way that lunatic was going to leave them alone now.**

**Teatime had, of course, simply reappeared before the pair of instrumentalists. "That was a very clever trick you managed, violinist." He cocked his head at them, affixing the two in his eerie gaze. "But... you did not stop time or any of the other extraordinary things I had anticipated. Now. Where did you get your magic, and **_**what**_** precisely is it? Or... must I guess?"**

Sky glared at the man. This was becoming annoying; now they had another stalker. Then he said, "Eclise isn't here. She's with the rest of the gang. I was left to deal with you."

A small black haired girl jumped of a nearby roof and said to Sky, "All set. Ready?"

He nodded and with a gust of wind the pair was gone again.

**Teatime grinned. How uncooperative. Wasn't it nice of them to challenge him so promptly after returning to life--but nothing too terribly difficult? They left such a trail, too... nothing left but to follow it. **

**Meanwhile, Rose was resettling the twin weapons on her back, reunited with her light pate armor, made by a master blacksmith--the lightest stuff in all of the land, but just as strong as standard-issue plate mail. She leapt out the window with her small satchel of belongings and raced across the rooftops and down alleyways to reach the outside of the city.**

----Outside city Limits----

"So. Everyone ready?" A tall black haired yellow eyed boy asked. The teens around him replied with a "Yes Rai," and went on their way. The whirlwind stopped, revealing the black haired girl and Sky.

Eclise sighed. "You had to leave them a trail...."

Sky looked affronted, "Well of course we did! It's not like we could afford to expose Raven's talent!"

**Teatime crouched in a tree near the beaten dirt path. **_**Even more of them!**_** How strange. Could it really be possible that **_**all**_** of these young people were of **_**that **_**magic? ...Ah! And here was the woman whom he had met in the bar--Rose, he recalled. As expected. She could be of use.**

**Rose raced along the dirt path. There was a group of teenagers standing in a tight circle--she recognized the two from the tavern. Sky, as the girl had called him, and the violinist that made them disappear from the alley. Teatime was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps he had failed to locate them...**

**Nothing to do but confront them again. **

**"Sky!" Rose called the one name she knew in the lightest tone she could muster.**

Sky glanced up before his head was pushed back down with a command of, "Get moving!" from the second in command, brown-haired, green-eyed Emreys.

Sky nodded with a comment of, "Watch out for Teatime."

Emreys nodded and stepped out of the circle. A burst of fire consumed the other teens leaving Emreys alone facing Rose.

**Teatime frowned deeply. "**_**Teh-ah-tim-eh,"**_** he muttered nearly silently. They must have seen his name written somewhere. So he **_**was**_** infamous indeed. He watched as several of the teens--including the instrumentalists--disappeared in fire. Using the scrying crystal, he noted their exit point and committed it to memory.**

**Rose stopped just a few feet from this new boy. He didn't look ready to talk, but she had no interest in fighting him. **

**  
"Look. I just battled an assassin that was after your instrumentalist friends. I want to know what it is you all are running from. I need to know if I have to chase some other force that is after you for another several weeks. I used to be a knight, but I would prefer **_**not**_** having to go on a long, involved specific quest with no clues as to why, oh, a lone man is tearing villages apart for no reason. I'm getting a little frustrated with this."**

**Teatime quirked a smile. How interesting. He might get answers just by sitting in a tree.**

The boy smirked. There was no way she was getting any answers so easily. "We're Mercs. We're on the run from everyone. Specifically Leicester, but that's his own fault, and Jarrett was an idiot. Need anything else?" he said. "I'm... Even by the way."

**Rose studied the boy carefully. "Mercenaries, hm?" She didn't blame the boy. She would have lied, too, at his age in this situation. "Sky and the violinist told me that Leicester wanted you as mercenaries and entertainment. They didn't like the idea." Rose folded her arms across her lightly armored chest, leaning back in a relaxed pose.**

**Teatime leapt from the tree and appeared directly behind the boy. "Besides that, each one of you has a powerful magic about you... a **_**different**_** magic. I am curious to know just where it came from... 'Evan'."**

Emreys was getting fidgety. They were trying to find out too much. And... was that... It was! Now he was in for it. That was Teatime, one of the people Leicester wanted to make them kill... This was going to be bad.

"We are mercs. Have been for about three years now" Emreys licked his lips, "And we were born with the talents we have. We just.... honed them." he said.

**Teatime cocked his head. "I thought so. But from whom? ...Somehow I doubt you are related to any anthropomorphic personifications, correct?" He treated both Rose and the boy to a cracked smile. **

**Rose opened her mouth then closed it again. So **_**that's**_** what this was about! He saw the children's' magic in the same way that he perceived the magic of immortal beings? **_**What does he want with them?**_

There was a crackle of lightning and the black-haired, yellow-eyed boy was back. He stood in front of Emreys protectively and said, "Time to go. I will deal with these nut jobs. The others are in a panic because Sky passed out." He turned and glared at Teatime before saying, "I believe you should know that we were hired by Gregory Leicester to kill you, Mr. Teatime. We simply decided that it wasn't worth the losses we would suffer. All of us were part of an experiment to give us elemental magic. Now I believe it is time for us to go. Emreys?" Rai questioned. Emreys nodded and the pair vanished leaving a few floating balls of white light.

**"**_**Teh-ah-tim-eh!**_**" growled the Assassin again. "Next time I **_**must**_** correct them."**

**Rose, staring at the glowing orbs muttered indignantly. "Nut job? I'm many things, but **_**nut job**_** isn't one of them." She gritted her teeth, pacing in the dusty road with her soft, leather boots. "...they were sent to kill **_**you**_**?"**

**Teatime quirked another smile. "Yes, it would seem so. Before Gregory Leicester sent his... pet after them. How flattering."**

**"Experimenting with inherited magic. Emreys. I knew he had to by lying. The others in a panic he said... the boy with the viola unconscious. Why would that be?"**

**Teatime was staring at the recently vacated patch of ground. "Indeed. That Rai is an interesting boy. Fire magic, if I'm not utterly mistaken."**

**Rose approached him in several quick strides. "And you--what is it that **_**you**_** want with those... mages?"**

**"Oh, they're not mages," Teatime answered lightly in a sweet tone, "They are **_**something else**_** entirely. Mage magic looks very different. **_**Their **_**magic is special. It looks a great deal like Susan's did."**

**Rose frowned slightly. Not like the magic of the anthropomorphic personifications? "...Susan?" she questioned.**

**Teatime nodded. "Oh, yes. The woman that killed me." His mouth twitched ever so slightly.**

A small boy, one of the youngest of the mercs stayed listening to the conversation. He was ebony-hared, emerald-eyed, 14-year-old Harry (Flight) Fleet. He had on purpose stayed behind manipulating the wind to let him see and hear the conversation between Teh-ah-tim-eh, as he insisted on being called, and R....Rose! Yes that was her name. Susan, who in the name of the seven hells was Susan? Yes, Raven's mother's name was Susan, but why did that matter? He was so confused! They were making his head hurt....

**"So--so you were dead. Are dead." Rose had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. All of those stories **_**were**_** true. He had perished while fulfilling a contract to inhume the Hogfather*.**

**Teatime shook his head. "**_**Was**_** dead. I am clearly not."**

**"How?" Rose demanded, crossing her arms over her chest. **_**Curse magic! **_**she silently declared again.**_** For how else could it be that a dead man stands before me? I prefer it when an enemy bleeds when you cut him, dies when he is beheaded, and ale remains ale.**_

**Teatime shrugged. "My death broke the rules. Indirectly, I was killed by the Auditors of the Universe. **_**They**_** sent me to fulfill the contract to kill the Hogfather. A neat little loophole." He grinned.**

**Rose remained silent for a moment. By the gods... it all made too much sense. The Auditors sent a mortal to do their dirty work (truly dirty work, since it was **_**their**_** job to keep the universe in balance, not tip the scales) and so, broke their own rules. Thus reverting Teatime, the wronged party in that case, to life. Rose flicked her eyes up from the dust beneath her feet meet Teatime's pale blue and black eyes. "So you were indirectly killed by the Auditors, but you were directly murdered... by this Susan?"**

**Teatime frowned. He turned his back completely to Rose in a single, sweeping motion. "She **_**cheated**_**," he muttered crossly. "She **_**threw**__**a poker straight through her Grandfather**_**. He--he's supposed to be made entirely of bones!" His voice rose to the pitch of a wronged child, "How could I know that a poker could sail through his ribcage? ...and straight into mine."**

**Rose grimaced. A fireplace poker through the stomach. Hardly a dignified way for an Assassin to die. Hardly a dignified way for anyone to go, really.**

**"**_**Susan Sto Helit.**_**"**

**Rose did the hearing equivalent of a double-take. "Death's* granddaughter?"**

**Teatime turned back to Rose. "I did not expect you to be privy to such information. Yes." He paused. "At least she had the decency to do it with **_**elegance**_**."**

*The Hogfather- the equivalent of Santa Claus in Teatime's world, anthropomorphic personification of hope, made real by belief of children/etc

*Death- the anthropomorphic personification of death; tall skeleton wearing black robes, carries a scythe for the harvesting of souls, keeps a sword to be used on nobility, his eye sockets glow faintly blue

This whole situation was confusing him. Teatime was already dead? Then why had they sent them to kill him? How could you kill a dead man? Wait... Did that make Teatime a zombie? Oh.... how he wished that Storm or Shadow were here to explain the techno-babble! He sighed and committed what was said to memory before wondering if anything in the world would ever make sense.

_**Elegance?**_** Rose hardly considered hurling a fireplace poker through a six-foot-tall, robed skeleton grandfather to pierce another human being **_**elegant**_**, but in Teatime's broken mind, who knew? She shivered just thinking of standing in the same room as Death. How could one survive it...? **

**There was only one question left--one thing Rose had to be sure of. **_**The old superstitions of the knights really **_**have**_** rubbed off on me.**_

**"You're really... alive, then? Flesh and blood. No magic? No vampirism? No undead?"**

**Teatime cocked an eyebrow. "You danced with me, didn't you?"**

**He **_**had **_**seemed very real. "No magic?"**

**"No more than there was before!" he declared lightly. "Now, if you will excuse me..."**

**Rose's hand shot out and grabbed the Assassin's black-sleeved wrist. "Not just yet."**

**Teatime looked interestedly from the strong hand on his wrist, to Rose, and back. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."**

**Rose released him grudgingly. "Fine. But I want to find out about these... magical people just as much as you do. I think we could benefit one another."**

**Teatime grinned. "As do I, Miss Rose."**

**"But know that I have no interest in harming them, Mr. Teatime," she said in a steely tone.**

**"And neither do I, Miss Rose." He held out his hand.**

**Rose studied it for a moment before grasping it firmly and shaking.**

**"Since we're in this arrangement, you may simply call me Rose."**

**"You may call me whatever you like, Rose. You pronounce my name properly."**

**They gave one another a firm nod.**

Fleet's (As he was called) eyes widened. They were planning a Hunt? No, he wouldn't, he couldn't allow this! He had to warn the others but his like most of the others his teleportation was rather flashy and they would notice! What was he to do!?

**"Where should we search first?" asked Rose.**

**Teatime affixed his new partner in his mismatched gaze. "Oh, it's not a question of **_**searching.**_**"**

**"You know where they are, then?" Rose folded her arms and slid back into her most relaxed position.**

**"Of course. ...How fast can you move?"**

**"How fast do you need me to move?" she answered with a sly grin.**

**"Faster than you can think," he replied seriously. "I don't know if I can manage my trick if I try to take you with me..." He frowned thoughtfully.**

Fleet cursed they had to get away! He didn't have the time for digression! And with that the earth came up around him closing in a loud snap. When it melted away there was no one there.

**Rose and Teatime flew into defensive positions at a loud cracking sound. **

**They spun about just in time to see a human-sized mound of land sink back into the earth.**

**Rose sheathed her weapons and Teatime's knives disappeared. **

**"Some**_**one**_** was eavesdropping!" commented the Assassin in a lilting voice.**

**"We'll have to move quickly," commented Rose, turning back to the road. "Which way?"**

**Teatime grabbed Rose's lightly armored arm and declared, "This way!" **

**There was a brief jolt and the dusty road was again deserted.**


	3. Chapter 3 In Which Answers Are Found

**Again, our original characters are of our own creation and should not be used without permission. We do not own any character or location from the "Discworld" series, "Final Fantasy" series, "Heir" series, etc. They are owned by their respective authors. Please review! Please? You will make two pathetic authors very happy.**

Chapter 3

----Merc. Encampment facility------

There was a sound like crumbling rocks. _Ah Fleet then.... _Shadow thought. Sky was being taken care of by Garnet, the group's healer, and they couldn't afford to move him. Fleet came in panting, and ignoring protocol he ran up to Rai and Emreys and said, "There coming! We have to leave!"

**Rose fell to her knees on another beaten dirt road, just outside a dense forest. The whiskey and soup from the tavern battled like half-mad werewolves in the pit of her stomach. With trained strength and patience she fought heaving... and subsequently lost her meager dinner.**

**Teatime was on his knees a couple feet ahead of her, panting heavily. **

**As soon as Rose had emptied the contents of her stomach, she attempted to stand, but her legs slipped like jelly from under her.**

**After a moment, Teatime stood. "That was... interesting."**

**Rose rolled her eyes and with a determined shove, tried to stand. Again, she dropped like a stone. "Why can't I stand?" she demanded, voice quavering uncharacteristically.**

**"Your body isn't used to travelling at such a speed, I imagine. I daresay it isn't used to magic, either." He turned about to examine their surroundings. He frowned. "We haven't quite made it."**

The sounds of something being packed, raised voices and shouting, reached their ears. One voice rose above the others and sounded like "He cannot be moved! I don't care if they'll find us or not!"

**Teatime cocked his head, as though to guide the sounds to his ear. "...Or perhaps we have."**

**Rose struggled to her feet--this time able to remain standing, though her legs felt like rubber. **

**Teatime glanced about, still listening. He strode off of the road and into the trees. He had not gone ten steps when Rose heard him call, "Ah!"**

**Rose, still unsteady, hobbled into the forest. It was much darker here than it had been at the city. Clouds constantly brushed the moon's edges. **

**"Here it is," declared Teatime quietly, gesturing to a great boulder, covered in vines.**

**Rose cocked her head in question.**

**"An illusion," he explained. He strode up to the boulder, and tapped the center. He touched it a second time, and his hand went straight through.**

_**Magic again**_**, thought Rose, shaking her head. All the same, she followed Teatime through what she would have sworn was solid rock. **

Suddenly Storm's eyes widened. Someone had broken through the illusions! "The illusions are gone! They're almost here!"

**Together, Teatime and Rose crept through winding stone passages and deserted hallways.**

**Perhaps they had fled after all. Rose was about to say as much to the Assassin when they heard a commotion just inside a pair of great, wooden doors.**

Inside the doors there was panic. They couldn't leave Sky, he was injured and unconscious, but they couldn't stay and be found out! It was decided that while the core stayed there the others and Rai would leave. That way even if they were caught, the job could still be done. After the last group left, all who remained were Shadow, Storm, Emreys, Eclise, Fleet, Raven, Garnet and Sky, obviously. They gathered around Sky's bed and waited for what was about to happen.

**A manic grin spread across Teatime's boyish features.**

**Rose saw it and grabbed his wrist. **

**Teatime turned a cool, mismatched gaze upon her. "I thought we decided it was not a good idea for you to do that," he articulated crisply.**

**Rose ignored him. "You know what happens when anything is frightened, don't you?"**

**"Of course. It screams," he declared as though stating the correct answer to a simple math problem.**

**"It **_**fights back**_**. You can't just appear in the middle of the room without them wanting to kill you."**

**"Wanting is not doing," he answered in a lilting tone.**

**"We don't want to hurt them. We want answers. Let's just enter like civilized human beings!" Rose released his wrist, and opened the doors.**

**They strode into the room. Rose's twin weapons clanked together on her back in the silence. The tail of Teatime's coat--which by all rights should have a least made a tiny swishing sound--glided noiselessly behind him.**

Emreys glared at them. "For the Goddess's sake! You can't take a hint can you?! We won't answer you!" He practically screamed.

Fleet rose to his feet (Feet Fleet hehe!) slowly bringing his arms up, an earthen wall appearing to rise from the ground. At shoulder height it stopped and he said, "Speak what you want but stay behind this wall!" Fleet snarled.

**Rose did not look the least impressed by any of this. She gave a respectful nod and stopped several feet from the earthen wall. Of course, within she was **_**extremely**_** impressed. It was powerful magic; of that she was certain. She did not know about magic, but she could certainly guess that little boy must have been the one eavesdropping. She recognized custom technique when she saw it.**

**The rogue opened her mouth to speak.**

**"Where is Susan?"**

**Rose clamped her mouth shut again, and looked quizzically at Teatime. How in the name of chivalry would they know wh--of course! The magic. He must think...**

The small girl, Raven, Stood up quickly, a quizzical look on her face. "What do you want with my mother? She's dead so why in the name of Gaia do you ask about _her?_" Raven spoke quickly, almost indecipherably due to her accent.

**Shock spread across Teatime's features first. Then, the lost look of a small child who has misplaced his mother. "**_**Dead?**_**" The look quickly disappeared. He frowned. "That is not possible. I am looking for Susan Sto Helit. I saw her hardly two months ago. I am not sure that it is even possible for her to... die."**

**Rose studied the Assassin carefully. What would he do... apparently he had made no other plans than to find the person who had killed him. But Susan Sto Helit—dead? Even **_**she**_** had a hard time believing that. Almost as hard a time believing that Susan had a child... but it was possible, she supposed. She turned her deep green eyes upon the small girl. From what she had heard, Raven's angular features would match... and her small build... could it truly be possible?**

Emreys spoke from his position next to Sky, "She's dead alright. Saw her killed by Leicester about a month ago. Was one of the main reasons we quit working for Leicester. She took care of and trained us, so when she was killed we became angry and left."

Raven nodded in agreement to the statement and said, "Sky, Eclise and I were forced to watch him kill her. Caught her and she wouldn't give him what he wanted, even through torture so. He killed her."

**Teatime spun around, his coat flaring behind him. He glared at the wooden doors. His thoughts raced. Susan. **_**Susan Sto Helit**_**, caught and killed. **_**Tortured**_**? Well. Her resistance to torture certainly made sense. She was a strong-willed creature, that one. But... **_**dead**_**?**

**Rose could only see Teatime's black-clad back as he brooded. She was concerned about what he might do. Susan was indeed dead, Rose was certain of it now. The tortured looks that passed over these children's faces were genuine enough. **

**Teatime's back suddenly straightened as though it had been bound to a board. Her grandfather would know. He would have to pay a visit to Death. He turned back to the earthen wall. "I have some unfinished business with her. I shall give you all her regards." He paused, and turned his horribly mismatched gaze upon the small, dark-haired girl. "I don't suppose you could tell me who your father is...?"**

Raven shook her head. "No. Mother wouldn't tell me who it was. She said it wasn't important enough to warrant telling." Raven shrugged. "Sorry." She turned away from them and Storm came up and gave her a hug, whispering in her ear.

**"Hm," the Assassin replied lightly, "I supposed not."**

**And then he was gone.**

**Rose blinked at the space where Teatime had been. **_**He left me alone here! **_**She rolled her eyes. Some partnership **_**that**_** was. Well... now she could ask her questions uninterrupted.**

After Teatime left. Garnet looked surprised for a moment before looking at Sky. Sky's blue eyes were open but he wasn't comprehending anything. Eclise grabbed his hand and started muttering under her breath. Garnet joined in and slowly the lights dimmed and then there was a flash, and then it looked as if nothing happened.

Only then Sky sat up confused he asked, "What's goin' on?" in a fuzzy voice. "Why she here? Where is T-t-teatime?" He yawned in the middle of Teatime.

**"He's a complete lunatic," muttered Rose. "He seems to think he will find Susan anyway." She paused, a sudden realization coming upon her, "I imagine in Death--how he expects to get there..." Rose shook her head. "**_**I**_** am here to get some final answers about Leicester. I need to know his aims. I was tracking down that assassin... Jarrett, after learning of the havoc he wreaked as he searched--apparently for you."**

**She stepped, daringly, a little closer to the earth wall.**

**"What happened to you anyway, Sky? And you," she turned to the violinist, "what is your name? The two of you certainly know your throwing weapons." Rose quirked a little smile of admiration.**

Raven smiled and said, "Yes I imagine he is a lunatic. But I doubt he will be able to find even her spirit."

Sky yawned again and looked at her and said, "I got attacked. And my partner here," he gestured to Eclise, "is Eclise, or Night if you prefer." Eclise bowed slightly and Sky continued, "We have always been talented at throwing weapons, like Emreys is adept at bow and arrow; it is simply a honed talent."

**Rose inclined her head briefly, still smiling. They were reminding her more and more of her... interesting childhood. "Good to meet you, Eclise." She turned to Raven. "You're probably right about that. As far as I know, Teatime has no magic talent of his own. For his last contract, he had to **_**hire**_** a wizard. I doubt he will be able to find the realm of Spirits, even as resourceful as he is."**

**Of course, people had underestimated the boyish Assassin before. And that had not stopped him.**

**"Can you tell me any more about Leicester? What he wants?"**

Emreys snickered. "What _doesn't _he want is a more accurate question. He wants everything from world domination to pretty slave girls. He attempted that with Eclise but Sky kinda got just a tiny bit mad..." Emreys trailed off at the look on his companions' faces. "What? Why are you two so mad?"

**Rose frowned deeply.****"I **_**hate**_** getting involved," she grumbled. At least it promised to be exciting. And that was what she lived for, was it not? She turned her emerald gaze to Eclise. "That is absolutely **_**disgusting**_**. You're only barely old enough to be a squire! Leicester... he wants the world. That's a mighty big aspiration for one man. Is he human? I assume he has no magic--I imagine that is what he wanted you all for." Rose glanced about, examining each of the young, gifted magic-casters in turn, studying the hall. "Are you all working against him now?"**

"He's human. A weak spell caster. Can only cause pain." A quiet, lilting voice came from one of the corners of the room. Brown hair and purple eyes set her apart from most of the others who had black or blonde hair. "The pain is how he made people listen to us. He used a talisman to give us nightmares that can cause pain. But he tried to 'have fun' with most of us. He doesn't discriminate between genders. And we do work.... against isn't quite the right word... but there is no way we are on his side!" She said. She was Shadow, child of the sun and fire.

**Rose could not help but give a broad, dashing grin. "I'm glad to hear it. I'm going to go after him. If you all would like to come, I would be honored to have your company." She whipped a leather cord out of the pouch at her side and began braiding her long, auburn hair. "...It will be an interesting venture to say the least." **

**Excitement built in Rose's chest at the thought of another adventure. Now that the dirty work was over, the fun could begin. She was no longer against a faceless foe. It was no longer an impossible feat. She was in her medium. Rose bet she would have better luck on her quest than the Assassin would have on his.**

**The Assassin Jonathan Teatime had a different way of looking at things. Where even the most innovative wizard said it could not be done, Teatime wondered, why not? Where the laws of the universe were concerned, Teatime decided, like normal laws, they could always be broken. Where the world staunchly declared, "it is impossible!" Teatime simply found a way to do it.**

**The Assassin Jonathan Teatime was currently in his (new) permanent residence, a good-sized room at a musty inn in the great city of Ankh-Morpork. The floor, walls, and ceiling were of a dark, dingy brown wood. Two windows, ready escape routes, one on the north wall, one on the east, let the pale moonlight cast shadows on the floor. There was a table fit for four made of oak, two chairs to match, a walk-in closet, an adjacent bathroom, and two beds. More room, he had decided when renting it, was better than less. **

**Currently, Teatime was bent over the table, affixing the gaze of his ice-blue eye and his black, glass eye upon two wine glasses, set equidistant from one another. Between these two glasses was a tiny, open container, no wider than a half-dollar, no deeper than a bottle cap. Inside the aforementioned container was what appeared to be fine, multi-colored sand. Not sand, but magic dust. Fairy dust. **_**Tooth Fairy**_** dust. Designed to take the wielder from the real world, to the castle of the Tooth Fairy. **

**If this dust could take you to the Tooth Fairy's realm, Teatime reasoned, why could it not take you to any other realm you desired?**


	4. Chapter 4 In Which Rules Are Broken

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**Again, our original characters are of our own creation and should not be used without permission. We do not own any character or location from the "Discworld" series, "Final Fantasy" series, "Heir" series, etc. They are owned by their respective authors.**

Chapter 4

Storm blinked. He could have sworn that.... Bang! Clunk! …there it was again... That meant, Oh for the love of Gaia why?! He stormed to the door and opened it, revealing a brown-haired boy and a blonde-haired girl. Linx and River. Felix and Mia. Where one went the other followed. One would think at the ages of 17 and 18 they would be more mature, but nope, still as immature as ever. Storm sighed. What in the name of the Goddess had he done to deserve this?

**Rose finished braiding her hair and tied it securely, watching with interest as two more of these young magic-casters made themselves known. "And who are the two of you?" she questioned. "If you all will help me fight against Leicester, I will need to know all of your names." **

**Rose put her hands on her armored hips and looked at each of them in turn. "I'll make sure that the only place he goes is to the Realm of Spirits. Are you with me?"**

**Teatime knew a great deal about the Realm of Spirits, having spent a good deal of time there while his case was reviewed by the Gods and by the new Auditors (for the old ones were, naturally, fired... and by fired, it is of course meant that the old Auditors were completely obliterated and cast from any and all state of being). But the Realm of Spirits, where all of the dead are taken by Death, was not Teatime's intended destination. No, Teatime planned to go to the Realm of Death--the place where Death himself resided. **

**This was a little bit more complicated than going to the Realm of Spirits. If one wanted to go to the Realm of Spirits, most simply, one could, Teatime supposed, commit suicide. To go to the Realm of Spirits alive and intact, one would take a piece of death, and a piece of life, and connect them to the Tooth Fairy's dust, if one had such access to that sort of thing, which Teatime did. But going to the Realm of Death would prove to be a great deal... trickier. **

**Trickier for a normal person perhaps.**

**The answer was plain and simple to Teatime. Indeed, he wondered why no one had thought of it before. All of these wizards that called themselves educated thinkers—**_**one**_** of them should have come across it! **

**The answer was, quite simply, **_**bridge the gap**_**. **

**  
Thus, the two wine glasses.**

**One glass, life in the current dimension as people know it.**

**The other, the Realm of Death. **

**Teatime took two bottles of wine from the trunk at the foot of the nearest bed. One red, one white. Two of the same--but different. He poured the red wine in the Current Dimension Glass so that it was half empty, and poured the white wine in the Realm of Death Glass (they now deserved capital letters, he reasoned) so that it was half full. **

**Half full versus half empty was the biggest difference in the equation, Teatime knew.**

**And the bridge, a loose string clipped from one of Teatime's coats.**

**String, he reasoned, because it was strong, yet flexible. String, because it could not be broken in the process. Black, because it was the color of Death. His destination. Black, because it was the presence of all color (he knew it even if other Assassins insisted that it was the **_**absence**_** of color, the opposite of light, and so was the color of the Assassins because of their job dealing with death, the very opposite of light and purity; but always of utmost elegance) and all colors were present in the Tooth Fairy's dust. They would be compatible. **

**The fact that all of this was not even **_**magically **_**logical; much less **_**scientifically **_**logical was completely lost to one Jonathan Teatime.**

Storm dragged the pair over to the conference of teens. Whispering ensued as the group decided. Then finally the blonde girl spoke up "We will join you. I am River or Mia; this is my partner Linx or Felix. We can control Water and Plants respectively." she said to Rose.

**Rose nodded to each of the new arrivals. "I am Rose. A rogue, as most would call me. But I tend to be pretty good in a pinch, if I do say so myself. Thank you for agreeing to this. Together we are far more likely to succeed."**

**--------Meanwhile--------**

**Teatime carefully placed his coat-string between the glasses, one end just barely dipping into each flavor of wine. He made sure the lid of the fairy dust jar was securely in his coat pocket, along with a couple of knives, and dipped the forefinger and thumb of his right hand (right, because that was the hand **_**closest**_** to the wine glass representing his destination) into the tiny jar of fairy dust. He clasped the jar between his left thumb and forefinger (in case he needed it later) without touching the table. **

**Then, the Assassin ever so carefully sprinkled the dust from left to right, beginning at the Current Dimension Glass, across the string, to end at the Realm of Death Glass. **

**As soon as the last speck of dust hit the smooth surface of the white wine, Teatime vanished.**

Storm started. Something had been thrown off balance, but what? Voicing his discomfort he said "Did you guys feel that?" after a round of affirmative nods he sighed in relief, so he wasn't going crazy... well crazier.

**Rose's lighthearted mood melted. "What, what is it?" Rose's hands started for her weapons, but she recognized magic when she saw it. Whatever they felt could not be fought physically.**

Emreys eyes narrowed. "Someone broke the rules of magic. Badly," he said, looking around. "Now the magic has decided that that person must pay."

**Rose's lips tightened. "Three guesses who. What happens now?"**

**--------Elsewhere--------**

**Teatime appeared just before a rather ordinary-looking house in a rather ordinary-looking land. **

**Ordinary-looking except for the fact that everything was a different shade of black, or simply bone white.**

**The Assassin grinned. He had made it. **

**Nothing to do but go and knock on the door. After all, he wasn't coming to inhume anyone. Just to make a simple inquiry. Why sneak in like an Assassin with a contract to fulfill?**

Sky snorted. "My three guesses are Teatime, Teatime and... Teatime!" he said sarcasm dripping from every word.

Then Eclise said, "Who knows what happens now. Everyone who broke the rules ended up dead last time...."

**Rose shook her head, her long, dark auburn braid dusting the light plate armor on her back, reaching down to caress the exposed tunic around her middle. "There's more than one thing not quite right about him. It'll be for the best... if we get that lucky."**

Sky laughed maniacally. "Teatime's just as crazy as my dad! He-he-he did practically the same thing to the realm of spirits and got trapped there! Just now he's dead!" With that, Sky continued to laugh hysterically until Eclise slapped him.

**As the echoes of Sky's laughter echoed about the chamber, Rose recalled her own childhood. No parents to speak of. Her father had died in a battle--a knight. Her mother... Rose could barely remember her mother. How **_**had**_** she died? ...a fire? That seemed close. **

**  
Against her better judgment, Rose pressed the subject, though she knew it could set the boy off again; there could be another clue to the children's' shattered pasts--and so a clue to Leicester. "Why in the name of the Spirits of Light would he want to transport himself there?" **

**------In The Realm of Death------**

**Teatime strode up to the bone-white door, clasped the black door-knocker (shaped like 'omega,' he noticed with a smile at the dry humor), and tapped it firmly three times. The door swung open...**

**It revealed, not the six foot tall, robed, imposing figure of Death, but a rather unimposing figure of a short, white-haired old man with tiny round spectacles perched on his nose. His clothing was rather plain and brown--he showed up in color in this black-and-white world, as Teatime was certain he himself did--aside from his black clothing, of course. **

**The man frowned up at him. "Well--what do ya wont?" He spoke with a somewhat watered-down Cockney accent.**

**Teatime arched an eyebrow. "I rather expected to see Death here. ...This **_**is**_** his house?"**

**The older man studied him carefully, looking the Assassin up and down several times. "Yes, this **_**is**_** Death's house; Oi'm his butlah. Albert's the naime. The Master ain't home. Whot's your business here?" **

Sky responded still laughing with tears in his eyes, "To visit my mom. He killed her because she didn't like him anymore and tried to take us away. He killed my twin too!" Sky was completely hysterical now. Eclise sighed and slapped him again. Once again it didn't help.

**Rose easily swung one-handed over the earthen wall. She crouched and leveled her vine-green eyes with Sky's blue ones. "Sky," she said in her battlefield voice, "you'll see them again, won't you? One day when it is your time. Now, you must seek justice for others. Seek justice for those who cannot attain it themselves--seek it for those who have not yet been wronged. Leicester is the objective now. We must prevent him from gaining the power to do worse to others than what your father did to you." **

**Her heart, buried beneath her relaxed, rash exterior, ached for him. His life worse than hers. He needed a purpose--a purpose he had already realized, perhaps. Rose knew. To float about with nothing to care for was a half-life. Thus joining the knights. Of course, that had ended badly, but for him--he had his friends. **

**"Do you understand?" Rose asked, her eyes still locked with his moist, blue orbs.**

Sky's laughter had morphed into chocking sobs by then and he made eye contact with Rose. "He killed them and I'll never see them again. Even if I was dead! The spirits said he destroyed both theirs and his own soul! There's no one left." He paused for a moment getting his breath back before declaring savagely "I'm going to kill Leicester!"

**Rose straightened. "That's the spirit," she declared lightly. She ignored the gaping looks the teens were giving her at such a dark joke, if it indeed could be called a joke. The atmosphere desperately needed to be lightened. And they needed to be on their way. "Where can we find him?"**

**------On Death's Doorstep------**

**"I am here looking for Death's granddaughter, actually. A woman called Susan Sto Helit," answered Teatime lightly. "I assume you know her, as much as she tried to **_**forget**_** her oddities."**

**The butler shook his head a bit, reminiscing. "That she--'old on!" this man… Albert… looked Teatime up and down again, suspiciously. "Why're you lookin' for Susan 'ere?"**

**"**_**Susan?**_**" croaked a voice from within the house. "Somebody's looking for **_**Susan**_**?" A somewhat scruffy raven flew from the shadows behind Albert and perched above the door. **

**"Yes, Quoth," answered the old man impatiently. "This young man."**

**"A **_**young man**_**?" the raven, Quoth, inquired to Albert. He made a gurgling, choking noise that sounded remotely like laughter. "**_**Young men**_** don't call on **_**Susan!**_**" The raven flipped his head up to peer at the black-clad man on the porch. "Thi--**_**Well! **_**What have we **_**here?**_**"**

**Albert fixed his blue-grey eyes upon Teatime. "Whot's your name?"**

**"Jonathan Teatime, sir," he supplied in his light tone.**

**A shadow passed over Albert's face. "**_**You're **_**the one that tried to murder the 'ogfather. And the Tooth Fairy, too, from what Susan and that Master have told me," he growled.**

**"**_**This**_** is the scum?" croaked Quoth above the door. He rose into agitated flight. "I'll eat his eyeballs!"**

**"You'll have some trouble with the glass one, I expect," replied Teatime cheerily. He shifted his mismatched gaze to Albert. "So Susan **_**is **_**here?"**

Eclise looked startled, "Where can we find who? Leicester? Just find the darkest, evilest place in the world and you'll find him," she said with a shudder. "And I hope for the children's sakes that he's not there still..." she let her voice trail off while her friends gave her a knowing look.


	5. Chapter 5 In Which things are Seen

**Again, our original characters are of our own creation and should not be used without permission. We do not own any character or location from the "Discworld" series, "Final Fantasy" series, "Heir" series, etc. They are owned by their respective authors.**

Chapter 5

**"Dark and evil... what exactly do you mean?" Rose quirked an arched eyebrow. "There are many dark realms, some reputed to be evil. You'll need to be a little more specific; where was he before?" She glanced at each of them. "Do you have reason to believe that Leicester is no longer there?"**

**------At Death's Door------**

**There was a pause.**

**"...not dead, then." the Assassin added to himself.**

**"Well of **_**course**_** she ain't dead!" croaked the raven.**

**"Shut up, you!" growled Albert. **

**Teatime's excitement crept into his voice, "I knew that she could not be. She is alive and well here, is she not?"**

**"Alive, yes," Albert grunted. "**_**Well**_**; not so much. She's still a bi' ill after that incident. Now if you will **_**excuse**_** me, I 'ave a dinner to cook--" **

**"I want to see her."**

**"What," cackled Quoth, "so **_**you**_** can take a crack at her?"**

**"Why do you think she'd wont to see **_**you**_**? You nearly killed her!" Albert declared, hands on his hips.**

**"I didn't try to kill **_**her**_**," Teatime disagreed, sounding rather like a small child defending his innocence when a cookie goes missing, "I tried to kill her **_**grandfather**_**."**

**Albert threw his hands into the air. "Well **_**that's**_** even worse! No wonder she ran ya through with a poker! Betcha it left a pretty scar, didn't it?" He caught an odd look on Teatime's face. "Oh, yes," he added, "I do know a thing or two about life an' death. I don't need to ask why you've got some flesh on yeh. Still scarred from your death, it is, though, I'd stake my life on it. **_**You**_** found a **_**loophole**_**." **

**"And so did Susan, apparently," added Teatime with an insane smile tugging at the corners of his lips. **

**Albert shook his head, peering at Teatime over his round spectacles. "Not a loophole, just a fact of life... or Death."**

**Teatime cocked his head. "Death, capital 'D,' then?"**

**Albert nodded. "Yes. Susan, bein' Death's granddaughter, has somethin' immortal in her, and the Master, bein' present at not only deaths, but near-death experiences, could take 'er away from 'er own... experience, just before any normal person would 'ave perished."**

**Teatime smiled again. He liked this old butler. Albert was knowledgeable and **_**ever**_** so cooperative. **

River sighed. "We used to live in The Black Streets in the capital. That's where Leicester was. But we don't believe he's there or more people would have joined us by now..." she trailed off.

"Unless he's killing them all...."

**"Or perhaps****he has promised the people who live there whatever they desire. Or forced them to remain," Rose mused. "After all, what would he gain by killing them?"**

The mercs exchanged glances. "They're dead, or raped, or silenced for life." Eclise said. "He doesn't want his secret to get out."

Emreys nodded. "That's why he sent Jarrett after us. Besides, anyone who survives comes to Headquarters through a spell we left there."

**Rose frowned again. At this rate, she would have permanent wrinkles. "Could it work backwards? I don't know much about magic, but if it did, we could travel there quickly and see if Leicester is still taking up residency there."**

**------With the Lunatic------**

**There was a shrill ringing from within Death's house. "Ah!" gasped Albert, "That's dinner. I bid you--"**

**"I still want to see her," Teatime pressed. "I have something important to discuss with her."**

**Albert's face began to cloud over again, but then he relaxed. A smile spread across his wrinkled face. "**_**All right**_**, Mr. **_**Tea**_**time. I will take you to see Susan. But Oi will not be blamed for anything she decides to do to you. Follow me, and don't touch anything." **

**Albert stepped aside, opening the bone-white door wide to the black-and-white front hall. **

**"It's actually..." the Assassin began in a clipped tone.**

**"Yeah, yeah, we know, teacup boy!" croaked the raven as he swooped down low, nearly nicking Teatime's ear in an effort to fly back into the house. **

**Teatime, shooting a terrifying, manic glare at Quoth, strode over the threshold of Death's abode, following Albert.**

**In seconds, they had crossed what Teatime had at first perceived to be a gigantic main hall with a vaulted ceiling, and stood before a giant, winding stairwell with a black, marbled banister, and white marbled steps. "Curious," he commented quietly.**

**Albert chuckled. "That's what Oi said meh first time." **

Storm shook his head. "It only works one way. We couldn't afford to have spies going back and forth, now could we?"

Eclise sighed. "Means we'll have to go the long way unless we could find Leon." She looked at Rose and explained, "He's a seer, but he can only see the present."

**"Well, the present is what we want," Rose pointed out. "Where is he?"**

**------In Death's Home------**

**In another few seconds, the stairs were behind them, spiraling downward through eternity, or so it seemed. **

**Teatime was quite fascinated by this.**

**Again, the shrill bell sounded. "Agh!" muttered Albert. Death's butler turned to the raven, just behind him. "Quoth, gao turn down the flame on the stove for me, would you?"**

**"Why do **_**I **_**have to do it?" demanded the raven.**

**"Just do it!" growled Albert, swatting at the bird with one hand.**

**Quoth easily dodged. "All right, all right!" He turned to soar back down the stairs, and croaked under his breath, "I'd better get an extra serving of eyeballs for this!"**

**Albert turned toward the long, carpeted hallway before them. "Shall we?"**

**Teatime nodded and they stepped forward. In another few seconds, the pair stood outside a pair of polished, pale black wooden doors, with scrolls of white decorating the edges.**

**"'ere we are," declared Albert lightly. He turned to the much taller Assassin. "Now. You're sure you don't just want to go 'ome?"**

**Teatime nodded. "Oh, yes, quite certain," he answered just as lightly.**

**"Your funeral!" chuckled the old man, as though it were the greatest joke in all of the world. With that, he knocked on the door twice, grasped the white handles, and pushed the doors open.**

Leon as it turned out was still in Headquarters. He was a mercenary after being rescued from Leicester by Eclise. He looked up as they entered his room and said. "Yes it was him. He decided to find Susan. No, he won't be back soon. Anything else?"

**Rose blinked. "**_**He's**_** in the Realm of Death? I thought it was... impossible for mortals!" She paused, recalling the strange incident earlier. "So… ****_he_**** was the one to break the rules?" Rose gritted her teeth. This could be more complicated than she had thought.**

**------The Bedroom of One Susan Sto-Helit------**

**Albert and Teatime entered the large bedroom together. There was color here. A midnight blue quilt was spread over a queen-sized bed with a canopy above it of the same hue. There were two, large windows on either side. A burgundy rug was spread in the center of the floor, a comfortable black armchair sat on the left near two wooden bureaus, and a large fireplace took up most of the right wall. And there, in a rocking chair facing the right window was Susan Sto Helit, Death's granddaughter. **

**Teatime grinned, but when Susan turned to fix them both in her dark blue gaze, his good humor vanished.**

**Susan's face was wan and pale, her lovely cheeks sunken, making her angular features and high cheekbones stick out sharply. There were dark circles under her eyes, purple, like bruises. Her white hair lay, seemingly exhausted, in a relaxed braid at the nape of her neck--a startling extreme from her customary tight bun or upswept style. The black streak in her tresses made the dark circles stand out ever more. **

**If one did not know the true appearance of Death, one might have declared the woman death incarnate.**

**But of course, Teatime knew otherwise.**

**Jonathan Teatime frowned. This--this was not at **_**all**_** what he had expected! This was certainly **_**not**_** who he had come to see! He did not come to visit this... this half-dead mortal... this--this--**_**corpse!**_** Where was the woman of steely determination? Where was the poker-wielding, daring, disciplined, 'I-am-not-amused' granddaughter of Death? Where was the woman of fiery disposition that--**

_**Ah**_**. **_**There she is**_**. **

**Susan's midnight blue eyes blazed like flickering blue flames. She rose to her feet in a sweeping movement that seemed too fast for her sickly appearance. "**_**What**_**," she demanded in a strong voice, "is **_**he**_** doing here?" **

Leon smirked. "He is in the Realm of Death. I myself cannot break the rules. My powers are limited to Seeing alone."

**"How will we find him now?" Rose asked the air. "When in the name of Renus and Tayen will he return?" She gritted her teeth again and paced furiously.**

**------With The Doomed Party------**

**"'e came to visit you, Susan," answered Albert with an amused grin still playing on his features.**

**Susan leered with all of the fiery strength and determination that had blazed when she had killed the Assassin in question just three months ago. "**_**Why**_**, Tea-time?"**

**Teatime gave her a smile that might have been charming but for the madness in his eyes. "Haven't you missed me, Susan?"**

**Her Death Glare was answer enough.**

**Albert, still grinning, backed toward the doors. "Oi'll leave you two to talk, then." The old man closed the doors quietly behind him--but not quickly enough to conceal his amused sniggering. **

**Susan was still leering. "**_**Oh,**_** we'll talk all right." Her gaze flicked to the iron fireplace tools beside the hearth. She moved with extreme agility.**

**Ah, **_**yes**_**. **_**This**_** was the Susan he had come to see.**


End file.
